Tell me what dog to get!

[CabbageLooking]

Hello - I am an aspiring dog-owner. We are about to move into a dog friendly house (good sized garden, floorboards rather than carpets, lots of great walks nearby) and I am at home all day and myself DH and DS really want to add a dog to the family. Before you ask: yes, we can afford it; yes, we are willing and able to give it the time and attention it needs and no, we haven't had a dog before.

It's not going to happen immediately, we need to work out what we want, research it and get the house ready before we do but, on the basis of the following, what would you recommend?

1. We are new to dog ownership.
2. We want something soft and gentle rather than barky and/or aggressive (I realise that some of this may come from nuture rather than nature).
3. We want something from puppy rather than kennel (we're not experienced - we need to know where it comes from, we wouldn't know what to do with a dog that had a difficult background).
4. It may need to be left for around an hour each day (for a walking school-run, I might be able to take it with me but I can't be sure).
5. Dh and DS both have a tendency towards allergies - neither have been noticeably allergic to dogs but ones which are heavy shedders might not be ideal.
6. I am fond of: golden retrievers, old english sheepdogs, springer spaniels and west-highland terriers. This is not an exclusive list. I don't like muscle dogs (I know, I know, they're misunderstood. I still don't want want one).

Go on wise MNers - tell me what you recommend.

Eolian, how cute. We also had a lurcher who had failed as a working dog. The cat had him so well trained he would look at the wall to avoid the cats eye 😃 your photo brought back happy memories.

Well we haven't decided yet but on your excellent advice we have a number of dog shows to go to over the summer. While I'm here, having read the sad thread about the 4yr old and the puppy, could someone talk to me about crates? Are they the best way to keep puppies safe and secure in the early days? And any general tips for training my 5yr old with the dog (I'm VERY aware not to leave him alone with it!)?

So long as you've raised your DS to be kind and gentle around animals and you don't just leave them together, it should be fine at that age.

I have a 5yr DS and a 2yr DD.
DS is perfect around our dog. He won't go to the dog, he lets the dog come to him. He is kind and gentle and knows to leave dog alone if he moves away. If dog gets excited, when the DC are playing DS stands totally still and says "mum" and will remain still until I say it's ok to move again. I think those are the key things DC need to know / do around dogs.

My DD is obviously as lot more work to keep both dog and her safe. She does understand she is not allowed in dogs crate (and dog very quickly learnt that and pretty much straight away used to take himself to bed in there when he wanted peace). However I constantly have to manage her interactions with dog. Obviously she is too little to get the idea that she can't just run up to him, that he won't always want her to stroke him. Plus her idea of gentle is sometimes too hard (same with humans too). So it's still a work in progress with her, and I have to watch them like a hawk, but she is getting better with dog all the time.

I also put Dog in his crate at meal times - mostly to stop DD trying to feed him and also to stop dog learning to snatch food from DC.

My dog has a crate more than twice the size recommend for his breed. I never had to train him to go in there - he loved it as his safe space from the beginning. He has his meals in there, I tell him to gey in there if the DC are eating or I need to do something where I can't watch both dog and DC properly and he puts himself away when he wants peace from the DC.

Very helpful - thank you! I think DS is pretty sensible so should be able to manage the rules you suggest.